In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Going out with a bang: the best films of 2009

    Sharlto Copley in District 9I’ve often been asked throughout the latter part of 2009 why I should have the gall to consider it the best year of film product in a decade. It’s such a subjective circumstance that, of course, the only answer is, “I liked a lot of movies.” That’s not enough for most. Hard and fast evidence is necessary. A carefully outlined, persuasive argument is expected.

    I just liked a lot of movies.

    The year began slowly, as they tend to do. The first film I saw that cried for end-of-the-year remembrance was a modest baseball drama I caught at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. Then it was all the way into the summer before a blockbuster banged the first four-star gong, followed shortly by a happenstance viewing of an unconventional British biopic at the Los Angeles Film Festival and a catch-up viewing of one of the year’s Sundance hits.

    Sprinkled throughout was top-tier animated product, a Comic-Con screening of one of the best sci-fi outings in years (and a homefront viewing of another first-time filmmaker’s fascinating foray into the genre), not to mention finally catching up with one of two exemplary war dramas that debuted in Toronto last fall.

    Before long, the summer, with all its surprise delights, both substantial and appropriately frothy, began to wind down. The fall awards season picked up steam as Telluride fired the starting gun and, after that, it seemed every trip to a darkened theater brought some form of satisfaction.  Even the entertainments seemed to satisfy completely.

    How can one defend the position any more succinctly? I liked. A lot. Of movies. And I relish the opportunity now to pay tribute to the year’s best, some 30 titles, each of which could have been a top 10 finalist in any other year.

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  • Southeastern Film Critics go for ‘Up in the Air’

    The winners, more after the jump:

    Best Picture
    “Up in the Air”

    Best Director
    Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”

    Best Actor
    George Clooney, “Up in the Air”

    Best Actress
    Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

    Best Supporting Actor
    Christopher Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

    Best Supporting Actress
    Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

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  • ‘Hurt Locker’ keeps it going with NYFCC

    The Hurt LockerThe New York Film Critics Circle decided not to announce its list of winners in real time this year, which is a shame because it has always been one of my favorite aspects of the season.  What we’re left with is scattered press release reveals, Twitterers scooping the group’s info as emails and phone calls circulated, and basically, the vibe that it’s just another cog in the wheel.

    And that’s before you get to the absolutely uninspired list of winners.

    Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” took down the Best Picture prize, joining the ranks of “Brokeback Mountain,” “Sideways,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “L.A. Confidential,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “Schindler’s List” and “Goodfellas” (just to go back 20 years) with the designation of coming out on top with both the Los Angeles and New York critics.

    The rest of the rundown is more of a snooze, other than George Clooney also being cited for “Fantastic Mr. Fox” along with “Up in the Air” for his Best Actor win.  “In the Loop” (a film with a popularity totally lost on me) nabbed the screenplay award, so I guess that’s something new.

    But honestly, the only award that made me say, “Nice,” was the Best First Feature prize for Steve McQueen’s “Hunger,” which was released in Los Angeles last December and landed on my top 10 list as a result, but didn’t make it to New York until 2009.

    The full list of winners after the jump…

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  • ‘A Prophet,’ domestic trailer

    My thoughts on the film from Telluride.  Guy’s from London fest.

  • 12/14 Oscarweb Round-up

    George Clooney in Up in the Air• In case you missed this morning’s announcement, “Inglourious Basterds” and “Nine” led the field of BFCA nominees. [In Contention]

    • Frank Rich op-eds a love letter to “Up in the Air.” [New York Times]

    • Steve Pond painstakingly assembles a primer on how many votes a contender needs for an Oscar nomination per category. [The Odds]

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  • Predict the NYFCC Awards

    Tilda Swinton in JuliaAfter surprising myself with the number of LAFCA categories I called yesterday, I’m set to disprove my newfound prescience by predicting today’s New York Film Critics’ Circle awards.

    Many are thinking the New Yorkers’ highbrow urban sensibility will favor “A Serious Man,” — but I don’t know if they’ll want to crown the Coens just two years after they last did so. Others think they may offer “Up in the Air” compensation for its meager showing yesterday, but it seemed more an L.A.-style pick to me.

    It may seem foolhardy to predict a repeat of yesterday’s LAFCA wins in the top two categories, but it wouldn’t be unprecedented: “Brokeback Mountain” nabbed Best Picture and Director honors from both groups in 2005, and the indie edge (and low box-office) of “The Hurt Locker” gives it the feel of a cause that critics’ groups won’t mind joining forces to champion.

    What are your best guesses?

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  • ‘Basterds,’ ‘Nine’ lead the pack with BFCA

    Eli Roth in Inglourious BasterdsFor better or worse, the Broadcast Film Critics Association has, of late, been frequently cited for its Oscar prognosticative prowess. Of course, it’s a pointless tidbit in the grand scheme and no one should be looking at organizations like this to see how accurate they might be on that front (even if this one in particular, of which I am a member, makes it a point every year to remind you).

    Having said that, I don’t think anyone would be shocked in the slightest if the BFCA’s list of 10 Best Picture nominees (see below) matches the Academy’s 10-for-10 this year. There is just one film on the list that ever felt truly questionable to me at some point along the way, and even that seems more and more locked in as latter-year hopefuls fail to catch expected fire.

    “Inglourious Basterds” and “Nine” led the way with 10 nominations each, a new record.  However, given the addition of below the line categories this year, it’s worth noting that their tallies wouldn’t have been so robust in the past. Quentin Tarantino’s film would have landed five nominations if it was business as usual. “Nine” would have landed three.  And “Up in the Air” would have led the field.

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  • Mulligan, Ronan, Sidibe and Stuhlbarg to receive Santa Barbara fest’s Virtuoso Award

    Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious ManI’ve been at a football game all day, so thank to Guy for keeping the news flowing through here.  Meanwhile, the latest SBIFF press release, in part:

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues its tradition of honoring the year’s standout performers by presenting The 2010 Chopin Virtuosos Award to Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Stuhlbarg, it was announced today by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. The Award presentation, sponsored by Chopin Vodka, will take place Sunday, February 7 at the Lobero Theatre at the 25th edition of the festival, which runs February 4-14, 2010.

    The Virtuosos Award was created to recognize a select group of actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year. Last year’s recipients for this award were Viola Davis, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo and Michael Shannon.

    Comments Durling, “These four individuals not only gave us standout breakthrough performances, but they all carry their own individual films – and they all do it virtuosically. We salute their achievement.”

  • AFI announce Top 10 American films of 2009

    Algenis Perez Soto in SugarJeez, give us some breathing room. Anyway, the American Film Institute has revealed their annual selection of the year’s best U.S. titles, and as usual, it’s a pleasingly diverse, idiosyncratic list.

    My heart sings to see Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s marvelous “Sugar” make the cut, at the expense of heavily-hyped titles like “Invictus” and even “Avatar” — Anne Thompson reports the latter got a special citation for technical achievement, though it’s not in the press release.

    From an awards-watcher’s perspective, however, the most interesting inclusion here might be “The Messenger,” whose higher-than-expected precursor profile suggests some may be underestimating its Oscar potential.

    Those looking for correlation with the Academy’s eventual Top 10 should bear in mind that a foreign title like “An Education” isn’t eligible for inclusion here. Even so, I’d say there are plenty of American titles not included here that are more likely to land Best Picture nods than, say, “The Hangover.”

    But that’s the beauty of the list — it’s always a joy to see a set of year-end honors with more on its mind than mere Oscar prognostication. Check out the full Top 10 after the cut.

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  • ‘Hurt Locker’ tops with LA Critics

    Kathryn BigelowToday is a very good day to be one Ms. Kathryn Bigelow. A few days ago, we asked you which film looks set to be the critics’ darling of the season — today, at least, the clear answer appears to be “The Hurt Locker.”

    Hours after sweeping the board with the Beantown crowd, Bigelow’s Iraq-set heartpounder took the top two prizes in the LAFCA voting. What this means for the film’s Oscar chances is open to question, but its 58 year-old helmer’s trifecta of prizes today bodes well for her chances of become the first female Best Director Oscar winner in history.

    The film wasn’t as dominant as it was in the Boston critics’ awards. Jeremy Renner’s Boston upset was not to be repeated, with Jeff Bridges taking his first (and, I suspect, not his last) Best Actor honor of the season for “Crazy Heart.” Meanwhile, DP Barry Ackroyd came in second to Christian Berger for “The White Ribbon.”

    More thoughts, and a full list of winners and runners-up, after the cut.

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  • ‘Avatar’ takes top prize from NY Online Critics

    AvatarNote to all the critics’ groups out there: yesterday was a quiet day. Did none of you think to announce your awards then, getting a little more individual attention in the process? Talk about a pile-up.

    Anyway, the New York Film Critics Online just revealed their selections, and while they’re not the most influential group out there, there’s good news for those hoping for a blockbuster presence in the awards season — and a battle of the exes on the Best Director front.

    Side note for fellow fans of Tilda Swinton’s performance in “Julia”: apparently she was Meryl Streep’s nearest competitor for Best Actress, though voter Katey Rich of CinemaBlend speculates that some critics voting hadn’t seen the film. Sigh. Still, nice to see her crop up in some way.

    A full list of winners is after the cut. (Thanks to assorted commenters, and Katey again, for furnishing us with details.)

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  • First wave of LAFCA winners

    I’ll offer some commentary when we have the full list of winners at 2.30, but for now I’ll just convey my astonishment at the competence of my predictions so far. And offer a hearty cheer for Agnes Varda.

    Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
    Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, “In the Loop”

    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Runner-up: Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”

    Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”
    Runner-up: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Ianucci and Tony Roche, “In the Loop”

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  • ‘Hurt Locker’ sweeps Boston critics’ awards

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerAmid the anticipation for the LAFCA awards later this afternoon, you might not have realized that the Boston Society of Film Critics is also announcing its winners today. (I know I hadn’t.)

    Anyway, it’s spectacular news for “The Hurt Locker,” which emerged triumphant in five categories, including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography and Film Editing. In a most welcome surprise, Jeremy Renner took Best Actor for the film — a cheer for the underdog amid a slate of more heavily-buzzed acting winners including Meryl Streep, Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique. Here’s hoping it’s not the last.

    Meanwhile, it fell to the brothers Coen to prevent a clean “Hurt Locker” sweep, taking Best Screenplay honors for “A Serious Man,” while the BSFC’s quirkiest move is the joint selection of “Precious” and “Star Trek” for Best Ensemble. In another gesture towards populist cinema, “District 9” took the debut director award. After some delay, meanwhile, “Summer Hours” took foreign-language honors.

    Still, the only real story here is the loud arrival of Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq actioner on the critics’ award scene. It’ll be interesting to see if the LA Critics continue the love across the country; we’ll know in a few hours. Full list of winners after the cut.

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  • Final LAFCA guesses

    Fantastic Mr. FoxBecause it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon. Because I need a moment of light relief after rewatching “Inland Empire” and plunging back into “Dogville” — I’m working on my end-of-decade Top 50, can’tcha tell? Because I personally get more fluttery with excitement about critics’ awards than any well-adjusted guy should.

    Because of all these things, my best guesses for the outcome of today’s two-part L.A. critics’ awards are after the cut. I’ll be bringing you the winners as soon as they are announced — at 12.30 and 14.30 PST.

    Meanwhile, you’ve been guessing away at these gongs in previous spaces Kris designated for the purpose — but who wants to take a stab at the tech categories? The LAFCA always do interesting things there. (Their music award is, annually, the most well-judged of the season, if you ask me.)

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  • ‘White Ribbon’ triumphs at European Film Awards

    The White Ribbon

    (UPDATE: Due to an error on the EFA’s own website, we initially reported that the technical Prix d’Excellence had been awarded to “Vincere.” This is incorrect: the sound design team behind “A Prophet” took the prize.)

    Foreign-language Oscar favorites “The White Ribbon” and “A Prophet” have been locked in something of an awards duel since May, when they took the top two prizes at Cannes.

    However, while the latter film has been hogging the spotlight of late — pipping “Ribbon” to the post at the London Film Festival, the NBR Awards and even the Spirit noms — Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner clawed back some momentum at tonight’s European Film Awards, taking the top three prizes for Best Film, Director and Screenwriter.

    “A Prophet,” which entered the race as the most-nominated contender, had to be content with a well-deserved Best Actor award for sensational newcomer Tahar Rahim, as well as the technical Prix d’Excellence for its sound team.

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  • The week ahead

    The next seven days will be a whirlwind end to 2009 (I say end because we all know this town checks out from roughly the third week of December on).  The season will take on a whole new face as a number of announcements come down the pike.

    But I’ll be tossing my own hat into the ring throughout the week as well, so I thought I’d offer a few reminders.

    Obviously tomorrow kicks off the critical kudos season with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s list of award winners.  Guy will be bringing those to you as they are announced in the afternoon (I’ll be out of pocket).

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Avatar’ awe, ‘Bones’ defense, original songs

    Avatar• A little movie called “Avatar” premiered. This week’s Oscar Talk tucked into the film.

    • As “The Lovely Bones” faces a frosty critical welcome, this week’s Off the Carpet column went to bat for the film.

    • We interviewed a quartet of young actors making strides this year: Abbie Cornish, Saoirse Ronan, Ben Foster and Bryce Dallas Howard.

    • In The Long Shot, we examined the animation race — and stood up for under-the-radar contender “Mary & Max.”

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  • Listen to Anika Noni Rose’s ‘Almost There’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog’

    Anika Noni RoseWednesday we featured Dr. John’s “Down in New Orleans” from Disney’s traditional animation entry “The Princess and the Frog,” which is expanding considerably this weekend.  Today we’re happy to offer up what could be the second-best play at a nomination for the film in this category, “Almost There.”

    Singing on the Randy Newman-penned track is Anika Noni Rose, who of course performs the voice of Tiana, the princess of the film’s title.  There isn’t much to be said about the song itself except that it’s a typical piece of break-out-into-song fluff that happens to come during a fairly key moment (and, therefore, has a leg up given the voting practice of viewing clip reels for the contenders).

    Newman has also said this and “Down in New Orleans” are the best songs from the film, though Ne-Yo’s “Never Knew I Needed” and Jim Cummings’s “Ma Belle Evangeline” (a really fun tune) are also getting some campaign focus.  But have a listen to “Almost There” below and tell us what you think.

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